


What Hurts the Most

by Madness_of_Xara



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Anger, Blood, Cutting, Denial, Depression, I wanted this to end happily I really did, Implied Fellcest, M/M, Paranoia, Please Don't Hate Me, Self-Loathing, You Have Been Warned, You guys are going to just LOVE the ending, insulting, really sad ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-17 11:12:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8141749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madness_of_Xara/pseuds/Madness_of_Xara
Summary: Physical pain was the only thing he could find that would silence them.In the end though, it was only a temporary relief.The whispers seemed to escalate then into screams, ravaging his sanity until it started to feel like he barely had any left.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr, madness-of-xara. I will link each new chapter as it comes out on every fanfiction I write on here, so follow for the latest updates if you want. I'm not forcing you. Love you all!!

 The cuts were beginning to heal.

"Tch."

He peeled off his jacket and tossed it off to the side somewhere. Reaching under his pillow, he pulled out a rather sharp bone, small with one end carved to give it the shape of a crudely fashioned knife. With a sigh, he held the rounded end in the palm of his hand, lighting fingering the tip of the sharpened end. The dark thoughts flooded through his mind, the small voices of doubt, of fear, of pain clawing at his mental health, filling his head with unrelenting whispers.

Physical pain was the only thing he could find that would silence them.

In the end though, it was only a temporary relief.

The whispers seemed to escalate then into screams, ravaging his sanity until it started to feel like he barely had any left.

Eye sockets empty, he ground his shark like teeth together, trying to control his breathing as his Soul hammered in his rib cage. _They aren’t real_ , he told himself. _You don’t have to listen to them. They aren’t really even telling you anything that you don’t already know_. The screams quieted some. _Yeah, that’s right… Take away their ammo and they start to back off… You don’t need to cut yourself to silence them… Just fight back. Fight back and take away their ammo. You’ve got this, Sans. Just keep-_.

'Useless bag of bones.’

He felt his entire body lock up at the sound of his brother’s voice in his head.

'Why do I even bother keeping you around?’

'How do you even get paid? You’re always lazing about, sleeping!’

'You are nothing but a disgusting slob.’

'Pathetic.’

'Weak.’

His brother’s voice whirled and whirled throughout his head, insulting him, breaking him down bit by bit.

He couldn’t fight back once the red tinted tears came pouting down his cheek bones.

Holding the bone tightly in his hand, he turned his opposite wrist upwards, angling the edge of the sharpened bone along his radius and ulna. With every cut came a sharp yet numbing pain. With the pain came the increasing silence in his mind.

With the silence came a halt to his movements.

The bone in his hand trembled before it was roughly tossed away, clattering against the wall before falling to the floor with a thud. Wiping away his tears, he grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around himself, standing. He quietly made his way to the bathroom, not wanting to wake up his brother. Once inside, he tossed the blanket to the floor, turning on the sink.

He made sure the water was scalding hot.

A shuddering sigh escaped between his teeth as his fresh wounds came into the contact with the burning hot water. If any of the voices had lingered in his mind, the pain that came with the burn drove them away. His mind was his own again. At least for the moment.

After a moment, he removed his wrist from underneath the water and turned it off. He then turned on the cold water and proceeded to splash himself in the face with it. Once, twice… After a third time, he turned off the water and merely stood there for a moment, gathering his bearings.

With a sigh, he looked up at his reflection in the vanity mirror. What he saw caused him to cringe slightly.

Bags drooped under his dimly lit eye sockets, betraying just how tired he really was. Red tinted sweat coated his paler than usual skull, more so than what was naturally there. The expression on his face, too… It was the face of someone who had been defeated. Defeated by their own inner demons, by their own minds…

A scowl pulled at his mandible and he curled his phalanges into a fist, drawing it up and back. With a strong surge of anger and self loathing fueling his actions, he slammed his fist into the vanity, shattering it with a loud crash. What parts of the mirror survived the assault were cracked, warping what little reflection it could give. The rest of the mirror laid as broken shards in the sink. Looking at his knuckles as he pulled his fist back, his scowl deepened at the sight of numerous scratches and cuts that littered them.

He didn’t bother washing them. The burn was satisfactory, even though it probably would have been in his best interest to do so anyways. Then again, when did he ever do the sensible thing when it concerned his own well being?

Grabbing his discarded blanket from the bathroom floor, he once again cloaked it around his shoulders, leaving the bathroom as it was, door open, light on, and mirror shards in the sink. His brother would throw a fit over the mess that he had left in there, but that would be nothing new.

He walked down the stairs silently and made a beeline for the kitchen. It was dark. The artificial moonlight illuminated enough of the room for Sans to see just barely. Walking over to the fridge, he opened it and leaned over some, peering inside. A golden bottle was what he grabbed from within. Leaning back, he closed the fridge and lifted the mustard to his mouth, sipping at it before he made his way back up to his bedroom. He noticed that the bathroom door was closed, but he was sure that he had left it open behind him when he left it earlier.

A sigh escaped him. He shook his head. He must have woken his brother up when he punched the mirror.

He slipped into his bedroom and went to lay down along his bed, setting the mustard aside. Closing his eyes, he shifted some along the spring mattress, trying to get comfortable. Closing his eye sockets, he sighed heavily. “Congrats, depression. You’re more clever than I thought you were…” he whispered to himself. He began to drift off then. With a grumble, he murmured once more under his breath, “Congrats…”


	2. Chapter 2

It was the sound of glass breaking that woke him.

Papyrus was a light sleeper, but the sudden noise from his own bathroom caused him to bolt upright out of bed. His first immediate thought had been that Sans had done something stupid, such as knock over something, but after a quick thought, he remembered that nothing in the bathroom could have made such a noise. Not that he was aware of anyways.

Wanting to be safe rather than sorry, Papyrus moved out of his bed, standing. A summoned javelin-like bone appeared in his hand, a thrum of magic sounding softly around it. Gripping it tight, he moved as silently as possible out of his bedroom, hiding along the shadows to keep himself hidden. He paused just outside the bathroom door, which had been left wide open.

He carefully checked around the corner, narrowing his eye sockets some. When he saw that nobody was inside, he more openly exposed himself, taking in the surrounding area while never once allowing his guard to fall.

Most everything in the bathroom appeared to be undisturbed save for the sink and vanity, the latter of which laid shattered into many pieces of various sizes within the former. Some blood like magic seemed to stain some of the smaller pieces. ‘Sans must have punched the mirror in some strange form of self training,’ he thought to himself with a bit of a relieved sigh. He allowed his weapon to fade away as he closed the door to the bathroom behind himself. Nobody else was going to clean it up, so he may as well while he’s there, right?

After a few moments of cleaning the shattered remains of the mirror from the sink, the sound of a door opening and closing sounded throuhout the house. Scowling, Papyrus finished cleaning, washing his hands before leaving the bathroom, lights off and door closed. He silently slid into his brother’s room, noting the mess in the darkness with barely hidden disgust. He was constantly reminded just how much a slob his older brother was, and this moment was clearly no different.

His gaze then landed on Sans, himself. Already, the older skeleton was asleep. How he managed to fall asleep just about anywhere and in no time at all would forever remain a mystery to Papyrus. With a sigh, he walked over and delicately lowered himself to the mattress, brushing his phalanges along his brother’s skull. His breathing was soft and even, and the rate in which his Soul hummed was normal. For once, it seemed that Sans was having a relatively normal sleep.

Papyrus’s facial features softened some at the sight. For all the shit that he gave his older brother, he actually cared deeply for him. He loved him dearly, but he often hated the defeated attitude that he had about most everything. It just upset the younger skeleton that his older brother would give up so easily if there was even the slightest bit of doubt to be had. In reality, it just seemed as though Sans had given up on everything.

As arrogant as it sounded, Papyrus knew that without him, Sans would have dusted himself a long time ago.

Sans was the only family that Papyrus had ever known. He didn’t even know if they had any family other than one another, to be honest. They had only each other… And honestly, one could not exist without the other. Not without serious consequences, anyways. Sans would likely kill whoever killed Papyrus then either live out the rest of his life as a walking corpse, just barely keeping himself alive, or dust himself. Papyrus knew that he would lose all compassion, or rather, what little he had, and, with a sick form of glee, he would slaughter whoever killed Sans without mercy. The aftermath, he couldn’t be sure of, and he didnt want to be sure of.

A quiet sigh escaped Papyrus, looking down at Sans. ‘I will not allow you to Fall…’ he thought to himself. As though he could hear that thought, a small, genuine smile actually pulled at Sans’s mandible. The sight made Papyrus smile some in turn. Cupping his cheekbone affectionately, Papyrus whispered, “What am I to do with you, brother?” He kissed his forehead, which drew a content sigh out of the older skeleton, his body shifting some before falling lax once more.

It was this movement of his body that made Papyrus withdraw. He watched as the elder shifted, and as he did so, he caught sight of something marring the male’s wrist. Frowning, Papyrus took hold of his arm, outstretching it some so that he could take a better look. What he saw made him still. He leaned in closer for a better look, thinking that perhaps the darkness of the room was playing tricks on him.

However, that was not the case.

The markings along Sans’s wrists were real…

And very recent.

Eight cuts, hastily made, were carved into the ivory bones. The only way Papyrus could tell just how fresh the cuts were was due to Sans’s magic glowing softly within each cut, healing the wounds that had been made there. Around those cuts appeared to be scars, long since healed over.

Where did all of those cuts come from? Did someone do that to Sans? Did Sans do it to himself? The last question sent Papyrus’s mind reeling. He felt his Soul grow cold and heavy. No… Surely not! Sans wouldn’t have done that to himself, would he? Of course not! Sans may have been weak, but he was strong enough not to succumb to such urges!

Right?

As the denial few more and more, there still remained that sliver of doubt in the back of his mind.

Pulling away, Papyrus looked at his brother, searching for answers in his sleeping face. He decided at that moment that he would make a call to Undyne in the morning. He would take a day off to train himself privately in reconnaissance.

The target?

Sans the Skeleton.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Undyne may be seriously out of character, simply because I don't really have much experience writing as her. I'm opening for critique when it comes to her most definitely. In anything, original or AU.

Unfortunately, Papyrus was unable to call Undyne the following morning.

In a sense, anyways.

Well, to be more accurate, he  _could_ , but when she had answered, she had automatically threatened him, saying the call better not have been about canceling their training session that day. He had never canceled their training before, they both knew that, but there were days where Undyne absolutely and positively would not allow him to back out even if he wanted to, which he normally didn't. Those days were usually the days where she absolutely  _needed_ a sparring partner to relieve some stress.

Otherwise, she probably would go on a dusting spree.

With a heavy sigh and a pinching of his nasal bridge, Papyrus said, "I really do need to, though, Captain."

"Well too-fucking-bad, punk. You aren't canceling and that is  _that_."

"Wait!" he exclaimed before Undyne could hang up. "If you won't allow me to cancel, then at least let me make a proposition for you."

"...I'm listening."

"I either need to be let out early from our session, or you need to help me with some personal training."

There was a momentary pause on Undyne's end of the line. "Personal training?"

"Reconnaissance. I have reason to believe that someone is harming my lazy bag of bones brother to get to me, but he has managed to keep it a secret from me for some time it seems. More than likely to keep the monster who has been hurting him safe from my wrath."

"Fufufu! You actually give a crap about that piece of shit?"

"In the same way you care about your psychotic scientist."

That instantly silenced Undyne's laughter. She growled lowly. "How did you-?"

"A monster I dusted gave me the information in exchange for their life. I dusted them anyways after they gave me the information."

"Why you-!"

"Now, now. Let's not resort to violence for a change." Papyrus was admittedly a little amused by Undyne's outrage, but now was certainly not the time for it. Not when he needed something from her. "Unless you want me to tell everyone in the Underground that the Captain of the Royal Guard actually  _does_ have a heart, I suggest we go with my plan, hmm?"

"You're blackmailing me?" Undyne scoffed in disbelief. She then made an amused sound, something akin to a chuckle. "You truly are the terrible Papyrus. I've been training you well. That's good to know. I'm in."

Papyrus felt relieved that she agreed to humor him for the day, but he didn't allow it to show in any way. "So which course of action are we to take?"

"The personal training one. I can't have you screwing up and letting Sans know you're watching him. Besides, two sets of eyes are better than one."

"You don't even have a full set."

"Cram it, it was a figure of speech."

Papyrus hummed some absently. "I'll meet you at your house first. I don't want him to know about this at all."

"Got it. See you soon."

With that, the call ended.

"Who were you taking to, boss?"

Papyrus turned to see a finally awake Sans, yawning and rubbing at his eye sockets. It didn't seem that he heard the conversation that had transpired, which was good.

"Just Undyne. I wanted to make sure the time of our training session. You know how she is sometimes."

"Yeah... I guess." Sans stretched, causing some of his bones to pop and grind against one another. "Did you make breakfast?"

"No. I need to make a run to the store after training today to pick up fresh ingredients. You'll have to make due with leftovers."

Sans hummed and dragged his feet as he made his way over to the fridge, pulling out a container of lasagna. Pulling off the lid, he threw it into the microwave and heated it up. Papyrus watched him for a moment, noting how sluggish his movements were. His brother was always sluggish in the mornings, but for some reason, this morning, he seemed especially so. A bad feeling washed over him, but he shoved it to the back of his mind.

It was nothing.

His brother was always this way.

He was just looking too much into it.

"Your patrol is in Snowdin, today," Papyrus said, leaning against the entryway of the kitchen. "Because of that, I won't be able to protect you today. However, if you need me-."

"You'll be at Undyne's, I know. Don't worry, boss. I can handle myself." The microwave dinged and Sans pulled out the container of lasagna. He grabbed a fork from a drawer before sitting down at the table to eat.

Papyrus pushed himself off of the entryway, his eye sockets narrowed. He walked over to the table and slammed his hand down against its surface. "You expect me to believe that when you have one HP and one ATK?" he questioned seriously.

Sans looked up at him with a lazy glare before looking back down at his food. He closed his eye sockets as he stabbed his food, bringing it up to his mouth. "If I get dusted, I get dusted. That's that."

The younger skeleton's eye sockets went wide. He then glared daggers at Sans. "Just because this world's rules are kill or  _be_ killed does not mean I will allow anyone to take what is mine. Not without going through me first." He shoved himself off from the table and turned, lifting the hem of his scarf up over his mandible. "I'm going to Undyne's. My phone is charged if you need me." With that, he left, slamming the door to his house behind him.

He had made sure to use all of his strength in doing so.

As he stormed his way to Undyne with a confident yet agitated stride, monsters purposefully avoided him. They feared Papyrus enough as it was. Anyone stupid enough to get on his way or on his bad side when he was already in a foul mood was just stupid and deserved what they had coming to them.

Papyrus smirked some behind the cover his scarf.

Good.

That was as it should have been.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe...heh...eeeeeeh. I may or may not have depressed myself writing this chapter ;v;

Sans sighed heavily as Papyrus left, looking at his lasagna absently. He then shook his head, feeling as though he just lost his appetite. Standing, he took his plate and cleaned it off in the trash, washing it afterwards. With that done, he decided to go ahead and head out to his post. It wasn’t like he really had anything better to do, after all.

Closing the door behind himself much more gently than Papyrus had, Sans pulled his hood over his head. The snow crunched under his shoes as he walked to his station at the far end of Snowdin, by the bridge his brother had made to trap humans. He could feel the stares of other monsters, their judgement as he passed.

He pulled his hood tighter over his head.

The area around his sentry station was empty for the most part, so he could blissfully enjoy some peace and quiet. He would be alone save for himself and his thoughts.

Sitting on the stool behind the counter of his station, Sans leaned forward, resting his face in his palm. After a while of thinking of nothing in particular and watching his static surroundings, the skeleton could think of nothing better to do than to take a well needed nap. He could barely keep his eye sockets open anyways. So, with that decided, he closed his eye sockets and nestled his face in the crook of his now crossed arms. Just a few minutes. Surely his brother would let him get away with that much.

Of course, he really would have appreciated it if he didn’t get a rude wakeup call around an hour or so later.

Clattering to the frozen, snow covered ground, Sans was all at once awake.

Above him, there was three monsters, laughing and smirking down at him. They were each different, consisting of a deer, bird, and lizard monster. They were all bigger than Sans, and one quick check of their HP and ATK warned him that he would more than likely die if he fucked with them as his usual persona.

“Look at this piece of shit! Falling asleep while working!” one cackled.

“He let his guard down! If we weren’t the _kind_ monsters that we are, we could have totally dusted him!”

“With that HP, he wouldn’t have even known that we did it!”

They all three roared with laughter, grinning at one another.

“Fuck off, you assholes,” sneered Sans. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with these fuckers, and honestly, he just wanted to blast them to dust just for waking him up in the first place. “Back off before I dust you.”

That only caused them to laugh harder. “Are you serious?”

“We aren’t scared of you!”

“One good hit and _you_ will be the one who gets dusted!”

“Besides…” The lizard monster lifted Sans by the front of his shirt and smirked cruelly. “We do what we want, when we want.”

Sans clawed at his arm, glaring daggers at the male. “The boss wouldn’t let you roam around if that was the case, asshole!”

“Oh? The _boss_?” the lizard said, feigning ignorance. He then pretended to be struck with brilliance. “Ooh! You mean _the terrible Papyrus_! You see, he doesn’t really know about us, short stack. We tend to keep to ourselves most of the time. Take out the small fry so that the biggest and the baddest can survive comfortably, that kind of deal. See, _you_ have been a target of ours for a good while, and now that your _little_ brother isn’t around to protect you for a change… Well… I would like to think that you are smart enough to figure it out.”

“Killing this whelp will be a _favor_ to Papyrus.”

“It’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

Sans froze at that, his eyes going wide with shock.

They…

They…

They were right.

Papyrus was usually around to protect him.

Papyrus was usually always having to keep Sans out of trouble.

His brother… The terrible Papyrus… The most feared and respected monster in the Underground alongside Undyne and King Asgore… The strongest and most ruthless monster… The coolest and most brilliant monster…

Protecting a lazy bag of bones that he didn’t really consider his brother.

Sans was a disgrace to him. Sans was nothing but a deadweight to him. If Sans wasn’t around… Papyrus would surely have everything he wanted in life.

He would be in the Royal Guard, and perhaps he would even be the new captain! He would be respected even more than he already was, and he would surely have all the allies in the world to stand by him in battle.

Sans was holding him back, keeping him down.

He stopped struggling, his head bowing back and his arms slowly dropping back to his sides.

There was no fight left in him.

It was for the best that he die.

For Papyrus…

They saw his weakness and immediately cackled, the lizard monster throwing him back down to the ground.

Sans crumpled on the ground, his whole body lax. He was going to take whatever they gave him.

It hurt, feeling their feet hitting him roughly all over. His spine, his ribs, his knees... He just allowed it to happen.

He just allowed them to keep kicking him, over and over. Yes, it hurt like Hell, but honestly, he welcomed the pain. It just reminded him that he was still alive, and dying would be a reprieve from it. They would give him death, and that was all that he wanted now.

“We’ll spare you this time, but remember, we’re gunning for you, short stack,” cackled the deer. They all laughed as they left, high fiving each other and chatting about who to take out next.

Sans weakly looked at his HP and tears formed.

0.01/1 HP.

As he slowly closed his eye sockets, unable to keep them open anymore, only one thought crossed his mind.

_Why didn’t they kill me_ …?


	5. Chapter 5

After he passed through the snowy terrain of Snowdin, Papyrus finally made it into Waterfall. Like it was in Snowdin, monsters were avoiding him where he walked. Again, it was as it should be. It was easy enough to get to Undyne’s house without any fights breaking out, and once he was there, he knocked on the door, crossing his arms as he waited for a response. The door opened within seconds.

Without looking at Undyne, he pushed his way inside her home.

“Alright, Papyrus, listen,” Undyne started, closing the door behind him. She turned to look at him, taking a deep breath before continuing, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I’ll respect your wish to be silent about it, but… Why do you think that someone is hurting Sans?”

Papyrus was silent for a moment, thinking about it. He normally would have scoffed at the idea of telling the fish monster anything that could have been seen as a sign of weakness on his part, but he had a fair amount of respect for her, both as her pupil and as her equal, especially since she was truly doing him a favor when she didn’t have to. Giving sensitive information away was bad enough in their world, but due to the blackmail he held over her already… Perhaps it would be worth it to tell her. “There are… cuts. On his wrists,” Papyrus told her, hesitant. “Angry cuts.”

Undyne’s eye went wide with shock. She then swallowed and looked away uncomfortably. “I understand,” she said. She then looked back at Papyrus. “We should eat first before we had to head out. Knowing you, you probably forgot to eat before coming over here.”

Papyrus nodded curtly. He had been too worried about convincing Undyne to be on board with his plan to think about eating. “Thank you.”

His words threw Undyne off guard, staring at him in shock. He had averted his gaze as though he had been ashamed to have thanked her. There was a tightness in Undyne’s chest at that. What could it have been, though? No… It couldn’t have been…

Was she feeling guilty?

After a quick moment of thinking about it, it seemed likely that that was indeed the case.

She had felt bad about pushing him into a situation where thanks had been called for.

She walked over to him, closing her eye as she wrapped her arms around him in an awkward hug, murmuring, “You would have done the same had it been Alphys…” She didn’t really believe that in all honesty, but it was to make both of them feel better about their situation. She felt him pat her head once, twice… as though to agree with what she had said. She pulled away then and cleared her throat. “Let’s make something to eat, then, shall we?”

After they ate, Undyne dressed herself to the teeth for the trip to Snowdin, pulling the hood of her parka up over her head and the hem of her scarf over her mouth. She nodded once to Papyrus who nodded back in turn. Since he knew the way through that part of the Underground better than she did, he was deemed the leader of the recon operation. They made their way to each sentry station, both his own and Sans’s, sneaking around carefully and quietly so as to avoid detection by any and all monsters in the area. After about thirty minutes of going station to station, there was only one station left, and what they saw left them both horrified.

Well, perhaps horrified was a strong word given their nature.

Sans was being kicked roughly by three monsters, over and over again, and it was more than obvious that he wasn’t fighting back.

“Those assholes…” sneered Papyrus quietly, starting to move out of his hiding spot, magic, glowing red bones with sharp ends forming around him in response to his anger. A gentle hand on his forearm froze him in place. Looking down, he saw Undyne looking at him with…

Was that _fear_?

His eye sockets were wide with shock.

The bones dissipated one by one.

“Wait,” she whispered. She pointed above the monsters, drawing Papyrus’s attention to where she was gesturing.

Above each monster that was hurting Sans, there was a spear, aimed directly over their heads, ready to strike down and pierce them should they get close to dusting Sans.

And so, Papyrus was forced to sit back and watch as his big brother was ruthlessly attacked. With every kick, the spears above them got higher and higher – all the better to ensure their dusting.

Papyrus was about to snap at Undyne to kill them already, that Sans wouldn’t survive another blow, when the monsters stopped, laughing at him and taunting him. The moment they left, Undyne ran over to Sans, lifting him slightly. Papyrus couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. There was something wet staining his cheekbones, though what it was felt… foreign to him.

“Paps! He isn’t moving!” Undyne barked.

That snapped Papyrus out of it.

Walking over shakily, he leaned down, picking Sans up from Undyne’s arms. It looked as though Sans was already beginning to turn to dust.

“I’ll take him home…” Papyrus whispered. “I’ll take care of him…” He bowed his head, hiding his face as best as he could. That didn’t stop the red tears from splashing against Sans’s cheek bones.

Undyne could see his shoulders trembling. Her first instinct told her to dust him and his brother both for being weak, but she forced herself to imagine Papyrus as herself, holding not a slowly fading Sans, but rather a slowly fading Alphys. That kept her in check. She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with some shock before quickly looking away. “Take care of him… I’ll take care of them,” she whispered. She then pulled away, turning away from him.

With that, they parted ways. Papyrus to take Sans home and Undyne to go on a bit of dusting spree.


	6. Chapter 6

Papyrus was gentle as he laid Sans down on his bed, frowning to himself. How could he have allowed his brother to get hurt to the point of near dusting…? His big brother… The one he had already strived to make proud… The brother he had wanted to protect when he learned about fighting and just how weak Sans was… He brushed his fingers along Sans’s cheek affectionately before cupping his cheek, leaning down and laying his forehead against his own. “I’m sorry…” he rasped, trembling. He was a fool… He should have said to Hell with waiting and attacked those assholes… He could lose Sans now… If he didn’t wake up soon, Sans would be gone.

A monster that doesn’t wake up from a serious set of injuries was destined for turning into dust…

“Forgive me…” Papyrus rasped, pulling away a little. Sans looked so peaceful sleeping… but it was horribly unnerving to see him slowly fading. “Big brother… Please… Wake up… Don’t leave me here alone…” His bones began to rattle. He was showing so much weakness in that moment that it was just pitiful. But he knew that he was entitled to his sadness. If King Asgore could cry over the deaths of his children, even after all these years, he could cry over the possible loss of Sans. “Please…” When Sans didn’t move, he leaned over him and kissed his forehead weakly.

The action caused the older skeleton to finally stir some, his eye sockets slowly fluttering open in a weak fashion. Looking up, he was surprised to see the pained expression on his little brother’s face, his eye sockets closed and brimming with red tears. “B-Boss?” he whispered with a raspy voice.

The sound of Sans’s voice washed a sense of relief over the younger skeleton.

“Shh…” Papyrus whispered in turn, his voice hoarse. “Save your breath…” He pulled away then, standing and turning away from his brother. He wiped his tears from his eye sockets with the dough of his hand. “I need to grab the first aid kit…” With that, he turned and left the room for a moment before returning, dusty white box in hand. He sat on the bed beside a confused Sans, opening the box on his lap. He took a brief look at its contents before setting to work. Once he was done, Sans’s HP had gone up slightly, meaning what Papyrus had done had helped him. Papyrus sighed heavily and closed the box.

His hands had been shaking the whole time.

“I’m going to get you something to eat. Is there anything in particular you would like?”

Sans blinked for a moment before swallowing. “Just… something easy…”

Papyrus nodded in understanding, once again standing and leaving the room. When he came back around five minutes later, he had a bowl of soup in his hands. He sat it on the nightstand before helping Sans sit up. After he handed the male the bowl, he watched him for a moment. He then let out a slow, heavy sigh. “Sans…” he addressed his brother, looking up at him evenly. “Why didn’t you fight back?”

Sans stopped eating immediately, his hand frozen in mid transit to his mouth. Slowly, he lowered the spoon back to the bowl, staring tiredly down at its contents.

“Sans, please…” Papyrus whispered, lowering his gaze, shaking. “Speak to me…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sans said abruptly, snappishly. “I’m _fine_.” His voice lowered to a bitter whisper. “They were right not to fear me… The only reason they never fucked with me to begin with was because I was usually near wherever you were… I’m weak, you’re strong. I’m… I’m a horrible fucking piece of shit of a brother where you’re the best brother anyone could ever hope for, and you deserve a better brother than me! I’m so screwed up in how I feel, what I feel, while you know _exactly_ what to feel in what situation! You’re calm and collected and I’m just an irrational bag of _dog shit_ who can’t protect _anyone_! Not even myself! I can’t fight back and… I… I can’t protect anyone… Not even the people I care about… Even though I shouldn’t care about anyone…” He began to choke on tears and sobs that were terrible enough to wrack his whole body.

Papyrus listened to every word with shock, his eye sockets wide with shock. Had the rules of their world really messed Sans up _that_ badly…?

He took the bowl of soup from Sans’s lap, setting it off to the side on the nightstand. He then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his brother, closing his eye sockets.

Sans pushed at Papyrus’s chest, hiccupping some from the force of his sobs. “I-I don’t want your _fucking_ pity!” he choked out. When Papyrus pulled away, it felt as though Sans had fucked up again. He didn’t want that. Not when Papyrus was willingly touching him, not when he was actually holding him and not sneering in disgust. So, before his brother could get too far away from him, he launched himself forward against him, sobbing and trembling like the emotional wreck he was. He was grateful for Papyrus holding him once more.

Papyrus held him close to his chest, resting his head on top of his own, closing his eye sockets. He knew now that his fears were confirmed – Sans had been hurting himself because he couldn’t handle the reality of their world. It was just because of location and time that he and Undyne saw what they saw… His grip on Sans tightened, and his right eye began to glow a harsh, Hellish red. Nobody would ever touch Sans again.

Sans would never have to hurt again.

Not if he could help it…

After all, even though Papyrus had never showed it, Sans’s happiness meant the world to him, and he would do anything to make sure that Sans was happy again… Just like he used to be when they were younger…


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a month since then.

Slowly but surely, Sans was healing in more ways than one, and it was all because of Papyrus’s help. The younger skeleton had been helping him heal, spending a lot of time with him, a lot of quality time, taking him out to places and just overall staying by his side. They were doing things as brothers, something they had not done in a very long time. In fact, it seemed like they hadn’t done it since Papyrus was just a bitty bones.

He had taken Sans to Waterfall’s more beautiful areas, more secluded areas, untouched by violence and dust, filled only with the beautiful glow and alluring hum of Echo Flowers and the rushing sound of water hitting rocks. He had taken him to Hotlands to play around with the less dangerous puzzles that had been there, obviously set up by the Royal Scientist Dr. Alphys, herself. He even took him to have tea with the King! Sure, King Asgore was intimidating, but he would always be there for a good cup of tea and soft conversation.

And Sans thought _he_ was weird.

King Asgore had always been made out to be this big bad asshole who took shit from nobody and would demand your death if you dared to have an opinion opposite of his own.

But in all reality, the King was just grouchy and still in mourning over the loss of his children even though years had passed since they had died. Don’t even get him started on the Queen leaving him because she couldn’t stand to sit there and watch him slaughter innocent humans just because he refused to ask for help.

Not only had Papyrus been spending quality time with Sans, but he had been teaching Sans to protect himself and fight back in the event of being attacked again even though there were new laws in place meant to prevent that, set in place by the King, himself, after the last census came in. There were too few monsters now for them to be killing one another anymore. Sans had learned a lot fighting Papyrus during their training, such as he had a natural knack for dodging, and even though his ATK was at 1, it was as though it was poisonous, draining his opponent’s HP by more than one point. It was impressive, his strategy for survival, but he had one flaw in battle – his stamina. No amount of training seemed to increase it, no matter what, and he had fallen asleep on his turn on more than one occasion, trapping his opponent in place because it still remained his turn despite his being asleep. Papyrus had told him to be more careful about doing that because not everyone was willing to fight fair.

Papyrus had, at one point, set up a controlled fight for Sans, telling him that his sparring partner was a criminal destined for death row. It was to test to see if Sans would give it his all in the event of a real fight. The monster had been brought forth by the married dog monsters of the Royal Guard, tossed onto the ground in front of the small skeleton. Sans was hesitant, but he didn’t want to disappoint, not after all of their training. So, with that in mind, he fought with all of his heart, dodging every attack the criminal threw at him. When the monster laid on the ground, panting and curling in on themselves, whimpering in crippling pain, Sans hesitated once more. He remembered back to when he had been in a similar position.

That must have been how he looked to Papyrus and Undyne.

The monster’s health was at 1 HP. And there was no way that he could take any more of a beating… So…

Sans’s hand lightly touched the ‘Mercy’ option, looking at the monster with sad eyes as the fight ended with that simple gesture.

Papyrus sighed softly and smiled, the dog couple having started to drag the injured monster away. He walked over to Sans and tilted his head some, his arms crossed against his chest. “I’m proud of you,” he said simply.

“Are you really?” Sans asked a bit hesitantly, shifting a little from foot to foot. “I mean… I didn’t dust him.”

Papyrus’s smile grew, and it seemed to be warmer as well. “Of course. I would rather have a brother who can survive in a fight and live to see another day than to have a brother who can kill in cold blood.” Wrapping an arm around Sans, he continued, “After all, that’s my job.”

Sans laughed. It wasn’t fake or forced. It was a real, genuine laugh with real emotion behind it.

Hearing his brother laugh made Papyrus want to laugh as well.

It was as though it was contagious.

The rest of that day was spent just walking around, talking and working through some minor problems that Sans still had about himself. It seemed to be a common occurrence whenever the two of them started to walk about the Underground nowadays. Before they knew it, they had ended up in Waterfall, and it was more than obvious that it was necessary to go see Undyne. After all, she lived there, and she had really helped Sans in a way by helping Papyrus uncover the truth about what had been going on with him. When they got to her house, they knocked on the door. When she answered, she smiled a real smile, inviting them inside and chatting with them. She offered them tea and even offered some snacks for them to have for on their trip back to Snowdin.

The two accepted both offered items, thanking her. Undyne grinned and went to make tea, asking them what kind of snacks they would want. They had the options of sandwiches, protein bars, fruit, and so on. They decided to split a sandwich.

There was only kindness.

There was no hostility.

There was no violence.

There was no dust.

Everything seemed to be getting better.

And for that, Sans was grateful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!  
> GENOCIDE ROUTE

With Sans’s healing and Papyrus’s newfound kindness, there seemed to be a shift in the Underground. The aggression there seemed to ebb away, and there seemed to be a newfound hope spreading. Perhaps they could all survive and break down the barrier… After all, they didn’t want to give humans a reason to lock them back up after being locked up for so long already. If they could change, surely that meant that perhaps the humans had too. Even King Asgore seemed to be initiating laws that preventing monsters from dusting one another anymore. Sure, monsters still did it, but it was more regulated now.

Everyone was happier in this newfound world. Everyone felt more safe, and it was as though everyone was becoming gradually more friendly towards one another. There was always those who rejected the new world and they still continued to attack other monsters, but that was just how it was with change. Not everyone was for it.

Sans and Papyrus were so much happier, so much closer as siblings. And they seemed to be the epicenter of the change in the Underground.

They laughed and hugged and actually spent time together. Sure, they argued every now and then, but what siblings didn’t do that? It was just how it was.

Of course, there wasn’t always such a thing as a good ending.

Sans fingered the torn red cloth in his pocket, feeling just the tiniest bit of dust across its surface. Blood dripped from Sans’s teeth, dripping onto the floor. His eye flared and empty, he pulled his hands from his pockets, staring down at his blood stained phalanges. He then chuckled weakly, watching as his hands began to fall apart slowly but surely. Looking up, he saw the human, smiling and holding their knife by their side. They weren’t affected by what they had done… By what they had done to Sans, to Papyrus, to everyone in the Underground up until this point…

It was hilarious.

So Sans began to laugh harder, spitting up more blood in doing so.

He then fell silent, breathing hard. Tears rolled down his face as he smiled cruelly at the human. “You know… what hurts the most…?” The human’s smile faltered for a brief second. It didn’t go unnoticed. “Heh… It’s knowing that… even though… everything was finally getting better… everything was changing… for the better… nothing was ever going to change… was it…?” He bowed his head and chuckled weakly. “Not with… you here…” He began to move, dragging his feet as he stumbled away. “Hey… Boss… I’m going to Grill…by’s… You want… anything…?”

 _Fwoosh_.

 

Consider maybe making two endings? Where everyone dies then everyone is happy?


End file.
